1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a method for handling printing plates wherein an exposed printing plate is bent in a bending device to form a leading end and a trailing end, transported to a printing press, and clamped to a form cylinder of a printing mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotary printing presses have printing units with a plurality of printing mechanisms. For example, printing units in rotary printing presses conventionally have two or four printing mechanisms, each printing mechanism comprising a form cylinder on which at least one printing plate is mounted. The printing plates to be mounted on the form cylinders of the printing mechanisms of a rotary printing press are exposed in the area of an exposure device and, after exposure, are bent in the area of a bending device so as to form a leading end and a trailing end. After the exposed printing plates are bent in the area of the bending device, it is necessary to guide the printing plates coming from the bending device to the printing press, namely, to the printing mechanisms themselves, so that the printing plates can be mounted on the form cylinders of the printing mechanisms. Difficulties arise in handling the printing plates particularly when large-format printing plates with a large axial width are used because there is a risk that the printing plates will be damaged during handling between the bending device and the form cylinders of the printing mechanisms. Therefore, there is a need for a method for handling printing plates by which even large-format printing plates can be handled between a bending device and the form cylinders of the printing mechanisms without the risk of damage.